The reason I get so pissed off at DUIs is because you know from a young age about its danger. Everyone knows it's wrong and can kill multiple people. I'm not saying I'm perfect but come on, everyone on this board knows when they should and shouldn't be behing a wheel.

Everyone makes mistakes and everyone should be allowed to learn from them. I feel that the law shoud be simple: You get one DUI, you get yoru license suspended. You get a second one, you lose your license for life. Period. End of discussion. You didn't learn from you mistake. Just my opinion and I'm sure I'll catch some crap for it but I feel its fair.

Alex White could be charged with an "extreme" DUI.White's blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.174 after his arrest Saturday night in Scottsdale. Under Arizona law, anything over 0.15 is considered extreme and carries additional consequences. The situation continues to worsen for the 23-year-old rotation hopeful.

andrew6586 wrote:The reason I get so pissed off at DUIs is because you know from a young age about its danger. Everyone knows it's wrong and can kill multiple people.

Not trying to defend drinking and driving, but....

So do you text while driving? Talk on the phone? Read the newspaper? Eat? All have been shown to be as bad or worse than a .08-.10 driver. Texting in particular has been shown to be twice as bad on response times as a legally impaired driver, yet in some states it's legal to do that...

andrew6586 wrote:The reason I get so pissed off at DUIs is because you know from a young age about its danger. Everyone knows it's wrong and can kill multiple people.

Not trying to defend drinking and driving, but....

So do you text while driving? Talk on the phone? Read the newspaper? Eat? All have been shown to be as bad or worse than a .08-.10 driver. Texting in particular has been shown to be twice as bad on response times as a legally impaired driver, yet in some states it's legal to do that...

Who reads a newspaper while driving?

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves-----Abe Lincoln

Let me tell you, if any of you douchebag empty headed stuffed suit nanny politicians tries to fuck with my bacon, I’m going after you like a crazed chimpanzee on bath salts. -----Lars

andrew6586 wrote:The reason I get so pissed off at DUIs is because you know from a young age about its danger. Everyone knows it's wrong and can kill multiple people.

Not trying to defend drinking and driving, but....

So do you text while driving? Talk on the phone? Read the newspaper? Eat? All have been shown to be as bad or worse than a .08-.10 driver. Texting in particular has been shown to be twice as bad on response times as a legally impaired driver, yet in some states it's legal to do that...

Who reads a newspaper while driving?

You'd be surprised, if you do longer highway commutes, you will see it. Everyday I drive past people reading the paper, a book, dog on their lap, etc. Let alone the cell phone talkers.

Driving while distracted is dangerous no matter the cause, but our society only severely punishes one of those distractions. I am not advocating abandoning drinking and driving laws, just pointing out the hypocrisy.

andrew6586 wrote:The reason I get so pissed off at DUIs is because you know from a young age about its danger. Everyone knows it's wrong and can kill multiple people.

Not trying to defend drinking and driving, but....

So do you text while driving? Talk on the phone? Read the newspaper? Eat? All have been shown to be as bad or worse than a .08-.10 driver. Texting in particular has been shown to be twice as bad on response times as a legally impaired driver, yet in some states it's legal to do that...

Who reads a newspaper while driving?

You'd be surprised, if you do longer highway commutes, you will see it. Everyday I drive past people reading the paper, a book, dog on their lap, etc. Let alone the cell phone talkers.

Driving while distracted is dangerous no matter the cause, but our society only severely punishes one of those distractions. I am not advocating abandoning drinking and driving laws, just pointing out the hypocrisy.

Guilty of all of the above at some point.

And never have I waken up in the morning and thought to myself "christ, I texted so much last night I have no idea which way I got home".

Are those other things distractions? Certainly. Are the as distracting as driving drunk?

andrew6586 wrote:The reason I get so pissed off at DUIs is because you know from a young age about its danger. Everyone knows it's wrong and can kill multiple people.

Not trying to defend drinking and driving, but....

So do you text while driving? Talk on the phone? Read the newspaper? Eat? All have been shown to be as bad or worse than a .08-.10 driver. Texting in particular has been shown to be twice as bad on response times as a legally impaired driver, yet in some states it's legal to do that...

Who reads a newspaper while driving?

You'd be surprised, if you do longer highway commutes, you will see it. Everyday I drive past people reading the paper, a book, dog on their lap, etc. Let alone the cell phone talkers.

Driving while distracted is dangerous no matter the cause, but our society only severely punishes one of those distractions. I am not advocating abandoning drinking and driving laws, just pointing out the hypocrisy.

Guilty of all of the above at some point.

And never have I waken up in the morning and thought to myself "christ, I texted so much last night I have no idea which way I got home".

Are those other things distractions? Certainly. Are the as distracting as driving drunk?

Not even close.

.08 is not blacking out man, are you serious? .08 is like 3 drinks for the average male.

"Rigging a car with a red light to alert drivers when to brake, the magazine tested how long it takes to hit the brake when sober, when legally drunk at .08, when reading and e-mail, and when sending a text. The results are scary. Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when e-mailing and texting.

You can find multiple studies on this. .08 is enough to ruin a career (see Adverb Harry's post above) yet other people on the road can do more dangerous things without legal repercussion even if caught. .16 (what Alex White did) is probably far worse than the information above, but I'd say .08-.10 is too low of a threshold to qualify as a substantial risk that justifies the punishment.

peeker643 wrote:NH is right. Texting while driving is as bad or worse from an accident standpoint. Worse yet is far, far, far more people are doing it.

Very interesting topic, IMO.

How are those numbers calculated? If it is a total accidents caused by versus percentage than I believe it. But I would venture to guess it is hard to get real solid numbers based on percentages of people driving hammered...

And in terms of accidents. Are you more likely to rear end someone while texting, say coming up to a traffic light? I could buy that. Which is an accident and a couple grand in damages. But sideswiping a family of four? Gots to be drunkards more likely to do that.

And the whole .08 thing? I know people that could score 30 on the ACT at .08. I also know some that couldn't recite the alphabet at .08. So let's not act like .08 is some magic number decided upon to screw those poor cats that just can't get by keeping it under a beer per hour before jumping behind the wheel.

pup wrote:And the whole .08 thing? I know people that could score 30 on the ACT at .08. I also know some that couldn't recite the alphabet at .08. So let's not act like .08 is some magic number decided upon to screw those poor cats that just can't get by keeping it under a beer per hour before jumping behind the wheel.

That's true. The alcohol thing is subjective.

As to texting, it's not solely the minor accidents and damage to vehicles. And it's not just kids. It's a serious issue and it's killing a ridiculous number of people.

Think of RT84, 2 lane road, 50mph. Someone texting veers just left of center and that's like a car hitting a brick wall at 100mph IF both cars are doing the speed limit. It happens all the freaking time these days.

Everyone tests for alcohol, drugs if they feel there's reason to do so or if the accident is fatal.

EVERYONE is pulling cell record on any serious injury loss anymore before the alcohol tests are even ordered. IMO cell phones are killing more people in the roads than alcohol is.

Combine them and it's death on wheels. Even if you're combining the guy who can score the 1400 on the SATs .08 deep.

Also, texting and driving is a temporary condition...as in, send the text and be distracted for the 10 seconds it takes to text. Driving drunk is for the whole ride, unless you're driving cross-country and sober up by the end of the ride.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves-----Abe Lincoln

Let me tell you, if any of you douchebag empty headed stuffed suit nanny politicians tries to fuck with my bacon, I’m going after you like a crazed chimpanzee on bath salts. -----Lars

gotribe31 wrote:Also, texting and driving is a temporary condition...as in, send the text and be distracted for the 10 seconds it takes to text. Driving drunk is for the whole ride, unless you're driving cross-country and sober up by the end of the ride.

You ever check out the sheer number of texts from kids (and adults more and more)?

It's not just one text. It's not just texts. Kids checking email, Facebook, twitter, sending tweets, emails and texts.

It's absolutely horrifying to think about what percentage of them are sent while driving.

It's staggering. Couple that with the fact technology and texting far more prevalent in young kids and young adults who already lack experience and believe they're immortal and you seriously have a potential epidemic with this. People bitch about guns? More fucking people will die because of phones in the next two months than will dies from gun shots all year.

gotribe31 wrote:Also, texting and driving is a temporary condition...as in, send the text and be distracted for the 10 seconds it takes to text. Driving drunk is for the whole ride, unless you're driving cross-country and sober up by the end of the ride.

You ever check out the sheer number of texts from kids (and adults more and more)?

It's not just one text. It's not just texts. Kids checking email, Facebook, twitter, sending tweets, emails and texts.

It's absolutely horrifying to think about what percentage of them are sent while driving.

It's staggering. Couple that with the fact technology and texting far more prevalent in young kids and young adults who already lack experience and believe they're immortal and you seriously have a potential epidemic with this. People bitch about guns? More fucking people will die because of phones in the next two months than will dies from gun shots all year.

I don't pretend to know specific numbers or figures, and I agree. Just saying that driving drunk is still worse because it is a constant state of inebriation. Totally agree though, both are bad.

President Obama sent out an e-mail last year banning federal employees from texting or using mobile devices while driving. Ironically, I read the message on my blackberry while driving down the GW parkway. I'm as guilty of this as anyone, and there have been a couple times where I've been sending an e-mail in the car and caught myself just in time to hit the brakes when a car in front of me unexpectedly stopped.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves-----Abe Lincoln

Let me tell you, if any of you douchebag empty headed stuffed suit nanny politicians tries to fuck with my bacon, I’m going after you like a crazed chimpanzee on bath salts. -----Lars

gotribe31 wrote:Also, texting and driving is a temporary condition...as in, send the text and be distracted for the 10 seconds it takes to text. Driving drunk is for the whole ride, unless you're driving cross-country and sober up by the end of the ride.

You ever check out the sheer number of texts from kids (and adults more and more)?

It's not just one text. It's not just texts. Kids checking email, Facebook, twitter, sending tweets, emails and texts.

It's absolutely horrifying to think about what percentage of them are sent while driving.

It's staggering. Couple that with the fact technology and texting far more prevalent in young kids and young adults who already lack experience and believe they're immortal and you seriously have a potential epidemic with this. People bitch about guns? More fucking people will die because of phones in the next two months than will dies from gun shots all year.

This gets to the point about the numbers I asked about ^^^^^^. In sheer volume, yes texting is a huge problem because of the number of people doing it.

But in comparing if someone is better off sending X number of texts on their ride home to being legally drunk...the only way the texting is more impairing is if you are constantly in texting mode.

I think it's interesting that his company has an IMMEDIATE TERMINATION policy just for being on the phone in a moving vehicle.

Why would a huge national insurance company have an immediate termination policy for that? Cause they're seeing the numbers every day - they're seeing what's causing accidents every day.

Can't imagine how worse the numbers are for texters.

Not here to make a case for drunken driving, just saying that there is a FAR greater chance that you or your loved ones will be killed by a texter rather than a drunk.

Never understood why, where in the largest opportunity position you are in to shorten your life, people don't take it seriously. If you text while driving, you should never say a bad word about drunk, cause you're at least just as dangerous.

leadpipe wrote:Not gonna speak for Peeker, but he's seeing the numbers every day.

I think it's interesting that his company has an IMMEDIATE TERMINATION policy just for being on the phone in a moving vehicle.

Why would a huge national insurance company have an immediate termination policy for that? Cause they're seeing the numbers every day - they're seeing what's causing accidents every day.

Can't imagine how worse the numbers are for texters.

Not here to make a case for drunken driving, just saying that there is a FAR greater chance that you or your loved ones will be killed by a texter rather than a drunk.

Never understood why, where in the largest opportunity position you are in to shorten your life, people don't take it seriously. If you text while driving, you should never say a bad word about drunk, cause you're at least just as dangerous.

Take driving seriously. Really.

Are you insinuating that Peeker is a competent employee who knows what he's doing at work? Cause I'm not prepared to accept that.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves-----Abe Lincoln

Let me tell you, if any of you douchebag empty headed stuffed suit nanny politicians tries to fuck with my bacon, I’m going after you like a crazed chimpanzee on bath salts. -----Lars

gotribe31 wrote:Also, texting and driving is a temporary condition...as in, send the text and be distracted for the 10 seconds it takes to text. Driving drunk is for the whole ride, unless you're driving cross-country and sober up by the end of the ride.

You ever check out the sheer number of texts from kids (and adults more and more)?

It's not just one text. It's not just texts. Kids checking email, Facebook, twitter, sending tweets, emails and texts.

It's absolutely horrifying to think about what percentage of them are sent while driving.

It's staggering. Couple that with the fact technology and texting far more prevalent in young kids and young adults who already lack experience and believe they're immortal and you seriously have a potential epidemic with this. People bitch about guns? More fucking people will die because of phones in the next two months than will dies from gun shots all year.

The stretch of highway I take to get into work is 4 lanes (each way) typically entertains speeds of 80mph+ with really heavy truck traffic. I've seen folks reading, texting, reaching around to find something, reaching back to handle something with their kids in car seats, and several times women putting on their makeup (using their rear-view mirror), including eye liner or mascara.

gotribe31 wrote:Also, texting and driving is a temporary condition...as in, send the text and be distracted for the 10 seconds it takes to text. Driving drunk is for the whole ride, unless you're driving cross-country and sober up by the end of the ride.

You ever check out the sheer number of texts from kids (and adults more and more)?

It's not just one text. It's not just texts. Kids checking email, Facebook, twitter, sending tweets, emails and texts.

It's absolutely horrifying to think about what percentage of them are sent while driving.

It's staggering. Couple that with the fact technology and texting far more prevalent in young kids and young adults who already lack experience and believe they're immortal and you seriously have a potential epidemic with this. People bitch about guns? More fucking people will die because of phones in the next two months than will dies from gun shots all year.

The stretch of highway I take to get into work is 4 lanes (each way) typically entertains speeds of 80mph+ with really heavy truck traffic. I've seen folks reading, texting, reaching around to find something, reaching back to handle something with their kids in car seats, and several times women putting on their makeup (using their rear-view mirror), including eye liner or mascara.

Nothing shocks me when it comes to people behind the wheel.

A couple of years ago, in the town where I live, a lady was in a minivan with her two kids, both under 5. Long story short, she was screwing around and not paying attention, rear ended a garbage truck. Both kids died, one instantly, the other took a few minutes. She got f-ed pretty back. Some how a guy on a motorccyle flipped, and had his foot ripped off.

In the end, the garbage truck driver gets charged.

Point is, yes shit like textin, putting on makeup, etc can be distracting, but it can't be enforced.

"I kill a communist for fun, but for a green card, I gonna carve him up real nice."

"All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one."

Enforcement isn't the issue with me. It's not doing those things thatend in DUI or distracted driving. And I ain't preaching. I've done both w/o misfortune thus far but I've done them when I'm old and smart enough to know better and when I see the ugliness it causes first hand on hundreds of occasions.

redneckofsc wrote:Point is, yes shit like textin, putting on makeup, etc can be distracting, but it can't be enforced.

It can be if the driver is driving erratically, ie...weaving, crosses lane lines without signalling. You just need to find somebody stupid enough to be doing any of those distracting things with a cop behind them...

redneckofsc wrote:Point is, yes shit like textin, putting on makeup, etc can be distracting, but it can't be enforced.

It can be if the driver is driving erratically, ie...weaving, crosses lane lines without signalling. You just need to find somebody stupid enough to be doing any of those distracting things with a cop behind them...

So someone is driving erratic because they are texting..what's the punishment? A $75 ticket? vs. a .08 BAC (let's say they are driving with a broken taillight but following the speed limit, not being erratic) who gets thrown in jail, loses his license for a 6 months and has thousands of dollars in fines.

We need a "Mothers Against Texting" to really see comparable punishment.

If you fine people for texting, where do you draw the line? Changing the radio station, keying in the GPS, putting on make up, eating, scratching their balls? I realize texting is dangerous, but how can you distinguish it from other things.

"I kill a communist for fun, but for a green card, I gonna carve him up real nice."

"All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one."

In some areas in which they have banned texting they are finding higher accident rates because drivers are not only texting, but hiding the device while doing it, causing further distraction from the road.

Hard to legislate the dumbass out of a dumbass.

Again, if you're going to leave this world early, good chance it's from a car accident. Paying attention while driving is about the most important thing you do every day. If people don't understand this than what are you gonna do.